It's getting a little paleo around here + Asian meatballs with "zoodles"

Zack and I thought we ate healthy before. But since we jumped on this low-carb, low-sugar bandwagon a couple weeks ago, my viewpoint has completely changed. We're getting down to pretty bare bones, meat and vegetables. You know you're eating paleo when you have shredded vegetables in place of pasta. You may find, however, that it's surprisingly delicious and satisfying.

Asian meatballs

As adapted from Nom Nom Paleo.

Makes 36 meatballs.

Ingredients for meatballs:

8-10 fresh shiitake mushrooms, minced

2 small (or 1 medium) shallot, minced

3/4 cup minced sweet potato

2 heaping tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

2 lbs. ground beef

1 1/2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, brush with melted coconut oil, and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Toss minced vegetables and herbs in a large bowl to combine. Add ground beef, soy sauce, tomato paste, and season with salt and pepper. Thoroughly combine ingredients, being sure to not overwork the meat. Roll out 3 dozen meatballs and place on foil-lined baking sheet. Each meatball should be about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Bake for about 20 minutes, until cooked through and browned, rotating baking sheet about halfway through. (If you want, you can reserve half of the raw meatballs, freeze on a baking sheet, toss them in a freezer bag, and save to pull out, thaw, and bake laker.) Serve with "zoodles" or on a bed of cabbage slaw, etc. and drizzle with sriracha.

For "zoodles:"

Wash zucchini, slicing off ends. Use a mandolin to julienne zucchini. Heat coconut oil or bacon fat (oh my) in a sauté pan over medium heat. Briefly sauté zucchini until crisp-tender, tossing frequently, about 4 minutes. Serve with meatballs.

Meatballs, minus the sriracha.

As I noted above, you can freeze half of the meatball batch, which is what I did, and Zack and I have gotten 4 meals (each) out of this recipe! Talk about good use of your time; it's so easy. Plus, these meatballs are pretty darn delicious. 

I love that they are packed with vegetables, but the meaty flavor is great. They hold well, and they have great texture. Plus, you can get a really good kick by drizzling with sriracha. This is a great recipe that I will definitely make again. They're wonderfully satisfying as a main, but they would be awesome appetizers as well. Well, I guess this is one not meatless Monday, but I'm so okay with it. Cheers!

Green herb shrimp with zucchini couscous

It's my ongoing quest to, slowly but surely, like seafood more and more. I can't say I've always been the biggest fan. As a kid, I really disliked the smell of seafood. Walking through the seafood isle at the grocery store was a struggle. Annual family vacations to the Oregon coast often consisted of trips to the fresh seafood market - where I would wait outside and try to avoid the wafts of oysters, crab, and goodness-knows what else with scales. Clam chowder was always a terrifying mystery...there could be a big chunk of rubbery clam in there that I don't know about! That being said, I have grown-up a little (I think), and I'm more openminded when it comes to seafood.

Being willing to try various seafood is one thing; cooking it is another. Hence, I thought it was time to cook some shrimp. The big ones. With tails. Make fun if you want to...I know it does not sound like a big feat, but I was proud of myself. (Ha.)

Now. I was drawn to this recipe because the shrimp are marinated and coated in a green herb sauce, which sounded like the perfect thing. Plus, basil, feta, zucchini...what a wonderful combination.

Green herb shrimp with zucchini couscous

As adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups diced zucchini (about 4 medium)
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat couscous
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
Heaping 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for herb sauce:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 green onions, white and light green parts, chopped
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 2 limes

In a food processor, combine all sauce ingredients and blend until fairly smooth with a few herb flecks. Put half of the sauce in a bowl along with the shrimp and set aside to marinate for 1 hour, reserving the other half of the sauce. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and sauté until edges are browned, 8-10 minutes. Cook couscous according to package instructions. Transfer couscous to large mixing bowl and add zucchini, remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, the basil, crushed red pepper flakes, feta, and vinegar. Toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat a large skillet (or alternatively, a grill) over high heat. Cook shrimp until they just turn pink, flipping halfway through, about 6 minutes. Toss cooked shrimp in remaining herb sauce and serve with zucchini couscous.

Well. I can say that I learned something by making these shrimp. My amateur tidbit is this: if you are going to cook shrimp that are coated in sauce, make sure to remove any excess sauce instead of dragging them through additional sauce, prior to cooking. That way, your sauce won't cook faster than your shrimp. I think this could definitely be applied to cooking any fish or meat in sauce. Just a good tip. Maybe I'm alone on this one, but it was a lesson that I had to learn.

In conclusion, this shrimp was delicious. The herb sauce is so colorful and vibrant, and could really be used on other types of fish as an alternative. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. I actually enjoyed these shrimp. And I don't always enjoy shrimp. Shrimp lovers and not so very shrimp-loving readers, this recipe will not disappoint. Give it a try.

Week Three: Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Sautéed Apples, Tomato Basil Soup, and Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas

We're still cookin'. It was a great week.

Spiced Pork Tenderloin

with Sautéed Apples

As you may recall, we've been rolling in apples over here...from our Iced Oatmeal-Applesauce Cookies from Week One of my new meal planning adventure, to our actual homemade applesauce from Week Two. And believe it or not, we still had apples left to spare. I was lucky to find a perfect fall dinner recipe (with apples) pretty quick into my recipe research for this week.

This awesome recipe came from the November 2012 issue of Cooking Light, so very current, evidently.  Find the recipe here: Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Sautéed Apples. They recommend using Braeburn or Gala apples (whose red peels are very pretty in Cooking Light's picture of the recipe), but I just went ahead and used what I had on hand. The combination of apples with the thinly sliced shallots is really good. Furthermore, the flavors in this dish are really delightful and cozy for a cold, fall evening. Coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, apple cider...okay, so this is pretty much dessert for dinner. But good for you...? Ha. No, but really, this is true. I also served this dish with sautéed green beans.

So. Since we're talking pork. How done is done? As in, how pink or not pink should your pork be? It's funny, because people usually error on the side of overcooking something versus undercooking. But for some reason, I tend to do the opposite. I am so terrified of overcooking things! I don't know what it is! I just hate when my chicken is dry because I sautéed it for too long. Or my cookies have a gritty crunch to them because they continued to brown/cook after I took them out of the oven. Do you hear me, or do you hear me? So what do you do? You look it up on the internet. And apparently the USDA standard for pork is 145-degrees, which was lowered from 160-degrees not too long ago (much to the happiness of many professional chefs (I mean, I think so, but I probably shouldn't say since it's not like I'm best friends with Michael Ruhlman or Anthony Bourdain)). But there's a good idea for you none the less: 145-degrees for pork.

Tomato Basil Soup

with Grilled Cheese and Ham Sandwiches

Since Nordstrom's Split Pea Soup was so tasty, I thought I would give another one of their soups a try. Seriously, when did Nordstrom become known for something more than clothes and whatnot? I've been pretty impressed with their recipes after I was gifted one of their cookbooks last year for Christmas.

Well, I thought this recipe that I found was actually one of Nordstrom's recipes...from one of their cookbooks. But after perusing the internet, I realized that this is someone's interpretation or imitation of some amazing tomato soup made at the Nordstrom Cafe. Long story short, I found this recipe from someone's blog through Pinterest. Find it here: Tomato Basil Soup. 

The flavor is really good. Make sure you use real good quality canned tomatoes, such as San Marzano tomatoes; can't go wrong. You know what they say, always use good quality ingredients, especially if there are very few ingredients being used.

So, I'll just be honest and say that I sort of felt like I was eating really good marinara sauce while eating this soup. The writer and creator of the recipe said to leave a little texture to the soup when pureeing it with an immersion blender, and let's just say I think I left plenty. I would recommend not as much next time around. However, that being said, the flavor was fantastic and this soup was great with grilled cheese and ham sandwiches.

This is the greatest bread for grilled sandwiches and French toast.

It sort of feels like cheating using canned tomatoes, but hey, that way you can make a good tomato soup all year round. Plus, you don't have to wait or try to find perfectly ripe tomatoes, which is hard sometimes. And goodness, don't make tomato soup with tomatoes that are not truly juicy and red, and pretty much falling apart. I've done that before. You'll end up with orange tomato soup. Not so great. Nice and ripe canned tomatoes. Great.

Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas

Yes, I realize it's not actually summer right now...

I happened to find and tear out this recipe at the same time as the pork tenderloin recipe above. So, this one is also from Cooking Light. Find the recipe here: Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas. Using frozen corn makes this a year-round option, but there's nothing like fresh corn on the cob. So I bought frozen corn on the cob, but it was a little strange. Kind of soft and not the same as fresh corn on the cob. Probably won't do that again. Luckily, the flavor was good and the lack of crisp-tenderness that I was wanting wasn't all to evident once stirred into the rest of the dish. Who knows, maybe I overcooked it and that was the problem. But I'm the one who never overcooks anything, remember? He he.

I've made tostadas like these before with the corn, zucchini, and red onion. It really is a great flavor combination. Plus, some good salsa verde just tops it off. Yum. The flavors and textures are just so wonderful.

A great, spicy salsa for dishes like this.

We made it easy and just made tacos (warmed our tortillas instead of toasting), but either way is delicious. Goodness, you could make burritos with this too. You could make a kind of fresh Mexican pizza. Ha ha. Okay, maybe that would be weird, but what I'm getting at is the is a great chicken and vegetable mixture.

That's it for now. Have a good weekend!

Healthy Carrot-Zucchini Muffins

If you have carrots in the refrigerator that are turning a little soft on you, no worries. Apparently, they are all the more better for baking that way. So what do I do? A little internet surfing with "carrot muffins" as my key searching terms. When I stumbled upon "carrot zucchini," well, that was even better because we got zucchini in our fruit/vegetable box this last week. And healthy was key. All in all, this recipe met more criteria than I could have asked for. I love healthy muffins. In addition to that, I love a good healthy muffin recipe.

What makes it a healthier alternative to your usual muffin? Well, for one, it has vegetables. Wonderful. Second of all, it uses primarily whole wheat flour. I usually try to throw in a little whenever I bake, but I have definitely learned that some recipes can only tolerate a very small amount. It can be a little gritty, but that's okay in a muffin with vegetables. Also, this recipe uses canola oil and applesauce instead of vegetable oil. Quite a few baking recipes call for vegetable oil, but canola is a perfect substitute and a much healthier one. The applesauce has a similar consistency, so it can often be used to replace a portion of oil required in a recipe. Lastly, there's no white sugar in this recipe; just brown. And the cinnamon and ground nutmeg give it a nice spice. Oh, and I chopped some almonds and put a little brown sugar on top before baking. It adds the most delightful crunch.

A pretty healthy sweet treat if I do say so myself. I mean, who doesn't like a healthier version for dessert or for a mid-day snack? Okay, maybe that's just me, but come on...you are what you eat, right? I do love real dessert though. Like not-so-good-for-you dessert. Like donuts. And cake. But, you shouldn't really have that all the time. In that case, this healthy muffin is the perfect choice. Plus, it's darn tasty.

Chicken-Zucchini Alfredo

Tuesday night's dinner: chicken-zucchini alfredo. This is a Food Network Magazine recipe. It's supposed to be a healthier version of the classic alfredo dish, incorporating whole wheat fettuccine and and sauce made with low-fat milk, a tiny bit of flour, evaporated nonfat milk, and freshly grated parmigiano reggiano. Toss the pasta in this sauce with zucchini and chicken sauteed in extra-virgin olive oil with minced garlic.

It seems to me that alfredo is usually heavy and rich. This alternative recipe is lighter, but doesn't lack in flavor by any means. Plus, the whole wheat pasta just gives it a little something that you wouldn't get with regular pasta. It has a little bite.

If you're looking for something fast and simple, but still rich in flavor, this is a great dish. Cheers.

Chicken Cutlets/Espresso Ice Cream

Dinner tonight? Chicken cutlets with sausage, zucchini, and red wine gravy. Definitely, my most hectic cooking excursion yet: three skillets, three pyrex dishes, and a baking rack. Now imagine that...all at the same time. Not to mention the ingredients involved. It was like Thanksgiving or something.

The cutlets are covered in a bread-crumb mixture with cornmeal, orange zest, parmigiano, and rosemary. Though incredibly tasty, I have a bread, walnut, parmigiano mixture in mind that I would like to try next time. I think it might be healthier. The vegetable side involved here consists of onion, red bell pepper, garlic, zucchini, and thyme. Very fresh and delicious. 

Now, the espresso ice cream. Our first adventure with the Kitchen Aid ice cream maker. I never thought I would make homemade ice cream. I mean, I absolutely love ice cream. Ice cream is one of my favorite foods, but it always seemed too complicated to actually make. Well, that is no longer a problem here. 

The recipe belongs to Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. It is the ice cream she leaves in the freezer for her husband, Jeffrey, before leaving him on his own for the evening. Now she left him dinner also, but he just goes straight for the ice cream and proceeds to spoon it directly out of the container. Before dinner. That's how good this is. And that is what happened to Zack and I earlier today. After we spilled the ground coffee that is. I don't know what it is about the ground coffee. I spilled it partially into the dishwasher a week or so ago, and now we dump it on the kitchen counter and floor. From now on, we handle the ground coffee with care; none of this nonchalant, carefree business. 

We did limit ourselves to just a couple spoonfuls (I don't know how) and saved up for a bowl of this gem after dinner. Espresso ice cream with chunks of chocolate covered espresso beans. Does it get any better than that, coffee lovers? Zack gives this a 9.5/10. And he's a pretty good food critic. He is also a good sous chef. And food photographer. Whose cooking blog is this...? :)